Mushrooms and sausages are a pleasant combination; in this case you'll want mild Italian rather than hot sausages. If you don't like sausages or are out of them the sauce will also work well with pancetta, and with prosciutto, though the latter should be a combination of fat and lean, not just lean. You can also, if you want, add some chopped tomatoes (canned or sun-ripened fresh), but I find that the tomato covers the mushroom flavor. Ingredients to serve 4:
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- cloves garlic, one crushed and the other minced
- A bunch of parsley, minced
- 1 1/3 pounds (600 g) fresh or frozen mushrooms (a mixture, and if you have wild mushrooms they will be quite nice)
- 2 medium onions, chopped
- 2 large sausages, casings removed and meat crumbled (or 6 ounces -- 150 g -- pancetta or prosciutto)
- 1 pound (450 g) tagliatelle or similar pasta
- Salt
Preparation:
If the mushrooms are fresh, brush away any dirt, washing them as little as possible, and drain them well. Thaw them if frozen. In either case, chop them fairly finely so that they will mix well with the pasta.
Heat 1/4 cup of oil with the crushed clove of garlic, and when it begins to brown remove it and discard it. Stir the mushrooms into the hot oil and cook them over a moderate flame, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. Stir in the minced garlic and most of the parsley, season to taste with salt and pepper, and continue cooking, adding a little water if need be, to keep them from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Heat the remaining oil in another pan and sauté the onions, salting them lightly and cooking them for 15 minutes or so, adding a little water if they begin to dry out and stick. Should they look like they're going to brown beyond golden, turn down the heat some. After 15 minutes stir the crumbled sausage into the onions and continue cooking, stirring, until the sausage meat has browned. Stir the mushrooms into the sausage mixture, together with the tomatoes if you're adding them) cover, and simmer for 20 minutes more.
In the meantime bring pasta water to a boil, salt it, and cook the tagliatelle. Drain them, return them to their pot, and stir half the sauce into them, together with a little more olive oil. Turn them out into a serving bowl, spoon the remaining sauce over them, dust them with the remaining minced parsley, and serve at once.
A good robust white will work nicely here, for example an unoaked Chardonnay from either Piemonte or Friuli Venezia Giulia; Pio Cesare's L'Altro comes to mind. As an accompaniment, a tossed salad will be nice if it's a 1-course meal, with crusty bread to mop up the drippings. If you're having a second course, perhaps scaloppini ai funghi, scallops with mushrooms (to maintain the tone) with salad or sautéed spinach.
Yield: 4 servings tagliatelle with mushrooms and sausages.
Heat 1/4 cup of oil with the crushed clove of garlic, and when it begins to brown remove it and discard it. Stir the mushrooms into the hot oil and cook them over a moderate flame, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. Stir in the minced garlic and most of the parsley, season to taste with salt and pepper, and continue cooking, adding a little water if need be, to keep them from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Heat the remaining oil in another pan and sauté the onions, salting them lightly and cooking them for 15 minutes or so, adding a little water if they begin to dry out and stick. Should they look like they're going to brown beyond golden, turn down the heat some. After 15 minutes stir the crumbled sausage into the onions and continue cooking, stirring, until the sausage meat has browned. Stir the mushrooms into the sausage mixture, together with the tomatoes if you're adding them) cover, and simmer for 20 minutes more.
In the meantime bring pasta water to a boil, salt it, and cook the tagliatelle. Drain them, return them to their pot, and stir half the sauce into them, together with a little more olive oil. Turn them out into a serving bowl, spoon the remaining sauce over them, dust them with the remaining minced parsley, and serve at once.
A good robust white will work nicely here, for example an unoaked Chardonnay from either Piemonte or Friuli Venezia Giulia; Pio Cesare's L'Altro comes to mind. As an accompaniment, a tossed salad will be nice if it's a 1-course meal, with crusty bread to mop up the drippings. If you're having a second course, perhaps scaloppini ai funghi, scallops with mushrooms (to maintain the tone) with salad or sautéed spinach.
Yield: 4 servings tagliatelle with mushrooms and sausages.
